7 ms·

If iPads were meant for kids

75 points by nmcfarl 9y ago

cpt1138 9y ago
This is more like if iPads were meant for parents. Maybe a little bit overbearing.
- eveningcoffee 9y ago
  Certainly overbearing. Also one failing at parenting and demanding that Apple should do it for him.
  - socialist_coder 9y ago
    He wants these features precisely because he is trying to be a good parent! Or do you expect him to monitor his children's iPad usage literally every minute they are using it?
    - simonh 9y ago
      I don't expect to monitor my children's iPad usage at all, other than literally seeing what they do from time to time and talking to them about it. I have no time at all for this sort of intrusive monitoring of everything children do every second. I think it's deeply unhealthy and pushes parent child relationships into confrontational situations, where what we really need to be doing is building up trust and responsible attitudes. If a parent can't do that, then no amount of surveillance and intrusion is going to fix the problem.
    - eveningcoffee 9y ago
      No, he is complaining that he can not be a lazy parent. You actually have to explain what is what and what is acceptable and what is not and you have to explain why. Some thing he is complaining about are simply annoyances. Some things show complete unwillingness to do the parenting. If your child is sneaking into your room to steal something then the solution is not a bedtime lock (and if it is really necessary then you can simply but it behind a real lock). Did Nintendo have a bedtime lock? Did PCs or Macs have a bedtime lock?
- DanBC 9y ago
  The parent doesn't sound too bad. They want to allow the child some freedom to use the device, but without eg Youtube recommending videos where gamers are yelling "I'M GOING TO RAPE YOU TO DEATH". S/he doesn't seem to be asking for youtube to ban any youtubers or demonetise them. THey just want better filters.
hyperion2010 9y ago
If all of these things were implemented I might allow one of these things in the house. As it stands I'm almost to the point where the only tech I would be willing to let in the house is a raspberry pi.
AzMoo_ 9y ago
Google Family Link gives you almost all of this.
- acqq 9y ago
  You have to create a Google account for the child too. Additionally: https://families.google.com/familylink/privacy/notice/ https://families.google.com/familylink/privacy/notice/ "As explained in the Privacy Notice for Google Accounts Managed with Family Link below, Google will not serve personalized ads to your child, but your child will still see ads while using Google’s services."
mattkrea 9y ago
Seems like a bad idea for kids of any age to be taught they don't need passcodes or that they are an annoyance.
- Shivetya 9y ago
  I wonder how long face recognition technology would function with children? I was under the impression that each accepted scan updates the mask so shouldn't it be able to keep up with changes to a child's face as they age? let alone serve multiple children so each has their own setup? education wise tablets need to recognize different users so as to allow device sharing and keep this budget friendly to schools
  - mattkrea 9y ago
    Speaking specifically about Face ID, Apples marketing has suggested that changes over time would influence the model but I do not believe it is there yet—-I have seen enough issues in my own usage and the only meaningful difference there is my glasses. And you’re very much right about the multiuser requirement. Apple should have been moving in that direction years ago but unfortunately we only have a bunch of “family sharing” hacks at the moment.
  - jsjohnst 9y ago
    > let alone serve multiple children so each has their own setup? They have this now, but oddly don’t make it available to parents, just schools. Watch the keynote video from a few weeks ago for reference.
cma 9y ago
> If iPads were meant for kids, then I, as a parent, would be able to set a parent passcode on a device in order to unlock it, even when the kids have forgotten their passcodes for the 17th time, so I don’t have to spend another hour or two getting the device in to DFU mode, re-installing the OS, and then re-downloading all of the apps they had that have now lost all of their local-stored data. Then a third party who steals or finds the device would be able to get all the kids user data (but perhaps not the adult's credit card data and passwords). That would potentially be an issue but I guess would be ok as an option.
techman9 9y ago
I credit much of my current aptitude with (and interest in) computers to getting to use one throughout my childhood with no restrictions. I understand it can be nerve-wracking for parents ceding that much control to children, but I think children are both smarter and more self-disciplined than we give them credit for and I think digital free range can build independence in the long run. Maybe my opinion will change when I have kids of my own someday. Who knows.
- socialist_coder 9y ago
  If you did that with an iPad today, your kid would basically only watch the most horrendous youtube videos or play brainless games. That stuff just didn't exist when we were kids, using our just-for-nerds computing devices. The games weren't as addictive or plentiful, video apps tuning to their "likes" didn't exist. It's not even remotely similar.
  - techman9 9y ago
    I don't know. I grew up in the XP era and I played a lot of brainless games (3D pinball was where it was at) and read a lot of mindless Wikipedia articles as a kid. But then I got curious about how it all worked behind the scenes. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but my hope is some of that inquisitive spirit hasn't been totally quashed. It's too depressing think that kids are not still discovering the internet as a virtually boundless repository of human information and a fascinating set of technical problems.
    - socialist_coder 9y ago
      The difference is that back then, the brainless games were the equivalent of a box of chocolates. Sure, you might eat a couple but you would probably get bored before you finish the box. Now, it's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. You never want to leave. So as a child, choosing the productive option yourself is basically impossible.
      - megaman22 9y ago
headsoup 9y ago
Marketing says pretty much anything is for anyone. Can't really blame marketing for a kid having something you think they shouldn't. And, kids don't need iPads. Kids need attentive parents and guidance, then they can use anything.
BooneJS 9y ago
We’ve struggled with this. We’re taking the bet that our kids will learn how to handle this if they have the ability to make wrong choices, and we convince them to make better choices later If they only know when to stop when they hit a fence, what are they actually learning about real life? Not sure how it’ll work out. I’ll report back after High School.
hoodoof 9y ago
This is the outcome of lack of competition. Also, Apple is not enthused about anything that might limit the ways in which a device is used. The whole point is that everything they do is focused on finding more and infinite ways to make a device used. Constraining use is deeply against the DNA of everything they are actually aiming at. There seems to be a real, deeply ingrained unwillingness to implement things that might reduce unfettered usage. Truly this is politics. In politics, you say what people want to hear but do whatever you want. That's what Apple does - positions the iPad as kid and family friendly but just does what it wants.
- DanBC 9y ago
  I genuinely can't tell if this is satire or not. The entire point of the Apple eco-system is that they impose limits. I'm not saying this is bad! It has strong benefits for many people.
- switch007 9y ago
  What? If they wanted to provide infinite ways to use their devices and not restrict their use, they would be easily rootable.
ponderatul 9y ago
The ipad is meant for everyone... for everyone to get hooked on using it.
hannob 9y ago
This web page is called "Hacker News". I became a hacker because when I was a kid I did all those things with a computer that I was not meant to do. I edited the AUTOEXEC.BAT (that's probably a crude analogy to the settings these days). I tried to understand options about memory management to some of the commands that probably weren't meant for anyone except for the developers (with limited success I must say). A lot of things happened during my childhood that were not good for me. Using a computer in unintended ways wasn't one of them. If you want no more hackers in 20 years you should give your kids devices so locked down they can't do anything.
- fit2rule 9y ago
  You could edit AUTOEXEC.BAT and write your own version. Kids can't do anything like that, at all, on an iPad. They are so far removed from anything even approaching productive tools for modifying/creating new apps on the iPhone, its just not feasible. Your argument would be fair and valid if in fact there were tools onboard to write apps for iOS .. just like there was a copy of EDIT.EXE and/or DEBUG.COM for you to play with on your old PC. But to make things equivalent, you'd have to have encrypted your old DOS disk and locked it down so it only ran one app, and there'd be no chance in hell you'd ever get anywhere even remotely close to GWBASIC.EXE .. So, no not really equivalent. Yes, kids should be encouraged to hack their computers. No, iOS does not allow this in any way, whatsoever. The tools of production have been removed from us.. a technological class system is being enforced by imperial masters. No compiler for you!
  - fooker 9y ago
    Did you totally miss 'Playground'? Or are you ignoring it for the purpose of making an argument?
    - andai 9y ago
      Link?
      - morituri 9y ago
simonh 9y ago
I started off sympathetic, but as I got down to the end of the article I found myself horrified. It's a recipe for indulging the worst tendencies towards helicopter parenting. Is detailed invasive intrusion and surveillance into the personal lives of our children really what we want? Do children really deserve no privacy at all? How about bringing up children to have a responsible attitude and building trust? I have exactly the same concerns the author has. I have two children ages 13 and 14, and they have each had an iPad since they were 6 and 7 thanks to the generosity of my brother. Our youngest in particular spends more time on youtube and chat apps than we would like, but I can easily imagine the damage I would do to our relationship by constantly spying on every single thing she does on it. Especially as she grows into her teenage years. It strikes me as lazy and avoiding building trust and responsible attitudes, the actual things parents should be doing to address such issues.
- goldenkey 9y ago
  But good parenting is all about setting limits and never actually being there or allowing kids to exercise self control. What if they find out that Nick Berg was a fearless reporter who was beheaded and manage to form opinions about the world without traveling? What if they watch pornography? I am afraid my kids might actually have to learn about the good AND the bad. Good parents tell their kids that bad stuff is bad...they don't actually let them find out for themselves... I am the son of a robot and I turned out just fine. Bleep bop booop beep. I am limited to sarcastic comments because my dad programmed me to be an asshole. Sorry.
  - txsh 9y ago
    The solution is not an iPad feature. It’s you deciding to be a good parent.
    - goldenkey 9y ago
      My above comment is in support of that opinion.
    - joezydeco 9y ago
LASR 9y ago
Holy shit. This article had one effect on me. It left me terrified at the parenting style of the author.
eaenki 9y ago
The fact that your kid is addicted to Angry Bird or spends too much time on Snapchat if there's no restrictions in place, it's just a deeper problem of how you've gone about educating your child. Restricting its use to those applications wont change anything. It's like using duct tape to fix a broken tire, only worse, because at the same time you're also destroying your relationship in ways you can't realize (by taking away his freedom and privacy). Yeah, he/she must be able to not lose time on its own. Some actionable advice to start with: if you or your wife are using TV/Social Media - AT ALL - you can begin there (by giving the example).
kar1181 9y ago
I get where this is coming from - but to be honest the main thing I want to lock down on my ipad is just not let them fire up youtube. You can't restrict certain apps from being opened. Restricted mode works mostly how I want. I have a bunch of suitable games I'm happy for the kids to play with without me hovering around. But every time I let them use an ipad I have to remove youtube if it's on there, as they are only allowed to use that when I'm watching with them.
- jsjohnst 9y ago
  > You can't restrict certain apps from being opened. Settings |> General |> Restrictions |> Apps
Joeri 9y ago
This is part of the reason I got my son an entry level windows tablet instead of an ipad. You have excellent control over what they can access, when and how long, and weekly summary reports on how they spent their time across apps. The trouble turns out to be that it is windows with all of the problems of windows. Unlike iOS updates regularly break things or hang for obscure reasons. The creator’s update even discarded the entire start screen layout. Partly the update problems are caused by the 32 gb storage constraint, but I don’t see why the windows folder needs to take up 16 GB and then complain it needs another 8. Also, because backgrounded apps don’t get tombstoned the machine runs out of ram and starts swapping / freezing (emmc is even slower than spinning rust), unless my son is careful about closing every game when he’s done with it. All of which is a long winded way of saying that iOS is not that bad for a kid’s device. It gets the basics right: don’t break unexpectedly for technical reasons.
hshehehjdjdjd 9y ago
These “I wish my technology would let me avoid having to discipline my child” articles always bother me. Son sneaking into your room to grab iPad without permission? Easy solution to that. No iPad for a week. He will learn eventually not to do it. No settings needed. The thing is, you don’t want an environment where a child cannot make a mistake. Sometimes you want to let mistakes be made and use those moments to teach your child what behavior is correct. Many of the restrictions requested in this article are in that vein. Although some, like age level restrictions, make more sense, since it is quite difficult for a child to ascertain whether a video will be appropriate for them without viewing it.
fauigerzigerk 9y ago
This should be titled "If iPads were made for parents who want tight control over their kids' digital lives"
sytelus 9y ago
Apple simply hasn’t figured out this huge market yet. I bet “iPad as nanny” is perhaps the top 3 use cases for the device. Amazon however has already discovered this market and produced customized Android based tablets just for kids: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J94SCAM/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J94SCAM/ On side note, it’s terrible idea to give iPad ownership to kids below 13 years old. Current tablet HID model primarily makes them as consumption device and most kids are better off with things that allows them to produce instead of just consume.
oflannabhra 9y ago
He’s right, and there is a simple solution: don’t give your kids an iPad.
wilwade 9y ago
So there are many hacker type comments below. And I somewhat agree with them. My kids use an Ubuntu box where while they are not sudoers they can do what a user can. The tablets (android) are different. For one the age can be much younger. My 2 yr old can play with the tablet, but I don't think giving her access to settings is going to help make her into a hacker. Ability to read makes a big difference between iPad and computer. I will also note that giving your kids access to scratch and python is far more likely to build the next generation of hackers than having access to iOS settings.
Jedd 9y ago
I realise this is an Apple-centric (refer "posted in apple" in the footer) blog post, but there's 21 'ipad' and 0 'tablet' references, so it seems very much like an anti-Apple dig ... which is fairy nuff, but I suspect the same claims can be made about almost any generic consumer device these days. I note that none of these concerns applied to my initial computing devices.
jdmoreira 9y ago
Replace “iPad” with “8-bit microcomputer” and what is suggested would have ruined my childhood.
influnza 9y ago
I am happy the article author is not my parent.

75 points by nmcfarl 9y ago

cpt1138 9y ago

This is more like if iPads were meant for parents. Maybe a little bit overbearing.

eveningcoffee 9y ago
Certainly overbearing. Also one failing at parenting and demanding that Apple should do it for him.
- socialist_coder 9y ago
  He wants these features precisely because he is trying to be a good parent! Or do you expect him to monitor his children's iPad usage literally every minute they are using it?
  - simonh 9y ago
    I don't expect to monitor my children's iPad usage at all, other than literally seeing what they do from time to time and talking to them about it. I have no time at all for this sort of intrusive monitoring of everything children do every second. I think it's deeply unhealthy and pushes parent child relationships into confrontational situations, where what we really need to be doing is building up trust and responsible attitudes. If a parent can't do that, then no amount of surveillance and intrusion is going to fix the problem.
  - eveningcoffee 9y ago
    No, he is complaining that he can not be a lazy parent. You actually have to explain what is what and what is acceptable and what is not and you have to explain why. Some thing he is complaining about are simply annoyances. Some things show complete unwillingness to do the parenting. If your child is sneaking into your room to steal something then the solution is not a bedtime lock (and if it is really necessary then you can simply but it behind a real lock). Did Nintendo have a bedtime lock? Did PCs or Macs have a bedtime lock?
DanBC 9y ago
The parent doesn't sound too bad. They want to allow the child some freedom to use the device, but without eg Youtube recommending videos where gamers are yelling "I'M GOING TO RAPE YOU TO DEATH". S/he doesn't seem to be asking for youtube to ban any youtubers or demonetise them. THey just want better filters.

hyperion2010 9y ago

If all of these things were implemented I might allow one of these things in the house. As it stands I'm almost to the point where the only tech I would be willing to let in the house is a raspberry pi.

AzMoo_ 9y ago

Google Family Link gives you almost all of this.

acqq 9y ago
You have to create a Google account for the child too. Additionally: https://families.google.com/familylink/privacy/notice/ https://families.google.com/familylink/privacy/notice/ "As explained in the Privacy Notice for Google Accounts Managed with Family Link below, Google will not serve personalized ads to your child, but your child will still see ads while using Google’s services."

mattkrea 9y ago

Seems like a bad idea for kids of any age to be taught they don't need passcodes or that they are an annoyance.

Shivetya 9y ago
I wonder how long face recognition technology would function with children? I was under the impression that each accepted scan updates the mask so shouldn't it be able to keep up with changes to a child's face as they age? let alone serve multiple children so each has their own setup? education wise tablets need to recognize different users so as to allow device sharing and keep this budget friendly to schools
- mattkrea 9y ago
  Speaking specifically about Face ID, Apples marketing has suggested that changes over time would influence the model but I do not believe it is there yet—-I have seen enough issues in my own usage and the only meaningful difference there is my glasses. And you’re very much right about the multiuser requirement. Apple should have been moving in that direction years ago but unfortunately we only have a bunch of “family sharing” hacks at the moment.
- jsjohnst 9y ago
  > let alone serve multiple children so each has their own setup? They have this now, but oddly don’t make it available to parents, just schools. Watch the keynote video from a few weeks ago for reference.

cma 9y ago

> If iPads were meant for kids, then I, as a parent, would be able to set a parent passcode on a device in order to unlock it, even when the kids have forgotten their passcodes for the 17th time, so I don’t have to spend another hour or two getting the device in to DFU mode, re-installing the OS, and then re-downloading all of the apps they had that have now lost all of their local-stored data. Then a third party who steals or finds the device would be able to get all the kids user data (but perhaps not the adult's credit card data and passwords). That would potentially be an issue but I guess would be ok as an option.

techman9 9y ago

I credit much of my current aptitude with (and interest in) computers to getting to use one throughout my childhood with no restrictions. I understand it can be nerve-wracking for parents ceding that much control to children, but I think children are both smarter and more self-disciplined than we give them credit for and I think digital free range can build independence in the long run. Maybe my opinion will change when I have kids of my own someday. Who knows.

socialist_coder 9y ago
If you did that with an iPad today, your kid would basically only watch the most horrendous youtube videos or play brainless games. That stuff just didn't exist when we were kids, using our just-for-nerds computing devices. The games weren't as addictive or plentiful, video apps tuning to their "likes" didn't exist. It's not even remotely similar.
- techman9 9y ago
  I don't know. I grew up in the XP era and I played a lot of brainless games (3D pinball was where it was at) and read a lot of mindless Wikipedia articles as a kid. But then I got curious about how it all worked behind the scenes. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but my hope is some of that inquisitive spirit hasn't been totally quashed. It's too depressing think that kids are not still discovering the internet as a virtually boundless repository of human information and a fascinating set of technical problems.
  - socialist_coder 9y ago
    The difference is that back then, the brainless games were the equivalent of a box of chocolates. Sure, you might eat a couple but you would probably get bored before you finish the box. Now, it's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. You never want to leave. So as a child, choosing the productive option yourself is basically impossible.
    - megaman22 9y ago

headsoup 9y ago

Marketing says pretty much anything is for anyone. Can't really blame marketing for a kid having something you think they shouldn't. And, kids don't need iPads. Kids need attentive parents and guidance, then they can use anything.

BooneJS 9y ago

We’ve struggled with this. We’re taking the bet that our kids will learn how to handle this if they have the ability to make wrong choices, and we convince them to make better choices later If they only know when to stop when they hit a fence, what are they actually learning about real life? Not sure how it’ll work out. I’ll report back after High School.

hoodoof 9y ago

This is the outcome of lack of competition. Also, Apple is not enthused about anything that might limit the ways in which a device is used. The whole point is that everything they do is focused on finding more and infinite ways to make a device used. Constraining use is deeply against the DNA of everything they are actually aiming at. There seems to be a real, deeply ingrained unwillingness to implement things that might reduce unfettered usage. Truly this is politics. In politics, you say what people want to hear but do whatever you want. That's what Apple does - positions the iPad as kid and family friendly but just does what it wants.

DanBC 9y ago
I genuinely can't tell if this is satire or not. The entire point of the Apple eco-system is that they impose limits. I'm not saying this is bad! It has strong benefits for many people.
switch007 9y ago
What? If they wanted to provide infinite ways to use their devices and not restrict their use, they would be easily rootable.

ponderatul 9y ago

The ipad is meant for everyone... for everyone to get hooked on using it.

hannob 9y ago

This web page is called "Hacker News". I became a hacker because when I was a kid I did all those things with a computer that I was not meant to do. I edited the AUTOEXEC.BAT (that's probably a crude analogy to the settings these days). I tried to understand options about memory management to some of the commands that probably weren't meant for anyone except for the developers (with limited success I must say). A lot of things happened during my childhood that were not good for me. Using a computer in unintended ways wasn't one of them. If you want no more hackers in 20 years you should give your kids devices so locked down they can't do anything.

fit2rule 9y ago
You could edit AUTOEXEC.BAT and write your own version. Kids can't do anything like that, at all, on an iPad. They are so far removed from anything even approaching productive tools for modifying/creating new apps on the iPhone, its just not feasible. Your argument would be fair and valid if in fact there were tools onboard to write apps for iOS .. just like there was a copy of EDIT.EXE and/or DEBUG.COM for you to play with on your old PC. But to make things equivalent, you'd have to have encrypted your old DOS disk and locked it down so it only ran one app, and there'd be no chance in hell you'd ever get anywhere even remotely close to GWBASIC.EXE .. So, no not really equivalent. Yes, kids should be encouraged to hack their computers. No, iOS does not allow this in any way, whatsoever. The tools of production have been removed from us.. a technological class system is being enforced by imperial masters. No compiler for you!
- fooker 9y ago
  Did you totally miss 'Playground'? Or are you ignoring it for the purpose of making an argument?
  - andai 9y ago
    Link?
    - morituri 9y ago

simonh 9y ago

I started off sympathetic, but as I got down to the end of the article I found myself horrified. It's a recipe for indulging the worst tendencies towards helicopter parenting. Is detailed invasive intrusion and surveillance into the personal lives of our children really what we want? Do children really deserve no privacy at all? How about bringing up children to have a responsible attitude and building trust? I have exactly the same concerns the author has. I have two children ages 13 and 14, and they have each had an iPad since they were 6 and 7 thanks to the generosity of my brother. Our youngest in particular spends more time on youtube and chat apps than we would like, but I can easily imagine the damage I would do to our relationship by constantly spying on every single thing she does on it. Especially as she grows into her teenage years. It strikes me as lazy and avoiding building trust and responsible attitudes, the actual things parents should be doing to address such issues.

goldenkey 9y ago
But good parenting is all about setting limits and never actually being there or allowing kids to exercise self control. What if they find out that Nick Berg was a fearless reporter who was beheaded and manage to form opinions about the world without traveling? What if they watch pornography? I am afraid my kids might actually have to learn about the good AND the bad. Good parents tell their kids that bad stuff is bad...they don't actually let them find out for themselves... I am the son of a robot and I turned out just fine. Bleep bop booop beep. I am limited to sarcastic comments because my dad programmed me to be an asshole. Sorry.
- txsh 9y ago
  The solution is not an iPad feature. It’s you deciding to be a good parent.
  - goldenkey 9y ago
    My above comment is in support of that opinion.
  - joezydeco 9y ago

LASR 9y ago

Holy shit. This article had one effect on me. It left me terrified at the parenting style of the author.

eaenki 9y ago

The fact that your kid is addicted to Angry Bird or spends too much time on Snapchat if there's no restrictions in place, it's just a deeper problem of how you've gone about educating your child. Restricting its use to those applications wont change anything. It's like using duct tape to fix a broken tire, only worse, because at the same time you're also destroying your relationship in ways you can't realize (by taking away his freedom and privacy). Yeah, he/she must be able to not lose time on its own. Some actionable advice to start with: if you or your wife are using TV/Social Media - AT ALL - you can begin there (by giving the example).

kar1181 9y ago

I get where this is coming from - but to be honest the main thing I want to lock down on my ipad is just not let them fire up youtube. You can't restrict certain apps from being opened. Restricted mode works mostly how I want. I have a bunch of suitable games I'm happy for the kids to play with without me hovering around. But every time I let them use an ipad I have to remove youtube if it's on there, as they are only allowed to use that when I'm watching with them.

jsjohnst 9y ago
> You can't restrict certain apps from being opened. Settings |> General |> Restrictions |> Apps

Joeri 9y ago

This is part of the reason I got my son an entry level windows tablet instead of an ipad. You have excellent control over what they can access, when and how long, and weekly summary reports on how they spent their time across apps. The trouble turns out to be that it is windows with all of the problems of windows. Unlike iOS updates regularly break things or hang for obscure reasons. The creator’s update even discarded the entire start screen layout. Partly the update problems are caused by the 32 gb storage constraint, but I don’t see why the windows folder needs to take up 16 GB and then complain it needs another 8. Also, because backgrounded apps don’t get tombstoned the machine runs out of ram and starts swapping / freezing (emmc is even slower than spinning rust), unless my son is careful about closing every game when he’s done with it. All of which is a long winded way of saying that iOS is not that bad for a kid’s device. It gets the basics right: don’t break unexpectedly for technical reasons.

hshehehjdjdjd 9y ago

These “I wish my technology would let me avoid having to discipline my child” articles always bother me. Son sneaking into your room to grab iPad without permission? Easy solution to that. No iPad for a week. He will learn eventually not to do it. No settings needed. The thing is, you don’t want an environment where a child cannot make a mistake. Sometimes you want to let mistakes be made and use those moments to teach your child what behavior is correct. Many of the restrictions requested in this article are in that vein. Although some, like age level restrictions, make more sense, since it is quite difficult for a child to ascertain whether a video will be appropriate for them without viewing it.

fauigerzigerk 9y ago

This should be titled "If iPads were made for parents who want tight control over their kids' digital lives"

sytelus 9y ago

Apple simply hasn’t figured out this huge market yet. I bet “iPad as nanny” is perhaps the top 3 use cases for the device. Amazon however has already discovered this market and produced customized Android based tablets just for kids: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J94SCAM/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J94SCAM/ On side note, it’s terrible idea to give iPad ownership to kids below 13 years old. Current tablet HID model primarily makes them as consumption device and most kids are better off with things that allows them to produce instead of just consume.

oflannabhra 9y ago

He’s right, and there is a simple solution: don’t give your kids an iPad.

wilwade 9y ago

So there are many hacker type comments below. And I somewhat agree with them. My kids use an Ubuntu box where while they are not sudoers they can do what a user can. The tablets (android) are different. For one the age can be much younger. My 2 yr old can play with the tablet, but I don't think giving her access to settings is going to help make her into a hacker. Ability to read makes a big difference between iPad and computer. I will also note that giving your kids access to scratch and python is far more likely to build the next generation of hackers than having access to iOS settings.

Jedd 9y ago

I realise this is an Apple-centric (refer "posted in apple" in the footer) blog post, but there's 21 'ipad' and 0 'tablet' references, so it seems very much like an anti-Apple dig ... which is fairy nuff, but I suspect the same claims can be made about almost any generic consumer device these days. I note that none of these concerns applied to my initial computing devices.

jdmoreira 9y ago

Replace “iPad” with “8-bit microcomputer” and what is suggested would have ruined my childhood.

influnza 9y ago

I am happy the article author is not my parent.